


Long Sleeves

by Super_Theater_Nerd



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Akiva is a foster kid I created who lived with them until the November before Billy, Angst, Gen, I have a list of all of the kids who lived there before, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, I’m going to write something for them to introduce them all, Mary and Freddy Centeric, Pre-Billy, Self-Harm, be careful children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 14:29:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18593158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Theater_Nerd/pseuds/Super_Theater_Nerd
Summary: Mary swears that it was completely unintentional. She never meant to see anything. Honestly. All she was doing was looking for scissors and she knew that Freddy had them. Did she mean to see them? No. Was she’s glad that she did? Of course she was.





	Long Sleeves

**Author's Note:**

> This was a little plot idea that for out of hand. hopefully this doesn’t suck. To clarify, the first bit is Mary’s perspective, then it’s Freddys, and the last bit is Mary’s again. Akiva’s an OC I created and I really like him. Anyway, enjoy.
> 
> TW: Self-Harm
> 
> Sorry guys, stay safe.

For the first time since probably seventh grade I have an English project that’s not an essay. My teacher’s a Shakespeare buff and instead of the recommended book we read “The Merry Wives Of Windsor”. I think everyone kind of liked it. It’s not a stuffy romance or tragedy. It’s more of an elaborate revenge plot.

The project entails putting together a scene or two from the play and put it on in front of the class. Seems easy enough, but costumes and props are worth sixty-five percent of the grade. 

In my group I’m not actually in it. I opted to do props and stuff. We are doing the bit with the letter so I need to make some letters. For whatever god forsaken reason I can’t find normal sized paper. All I can find is 18x11 paper and that’s it. I need scissors to cut it down to a normal piece.

There’s none downstairs with Darla’s craft supplies. The kitchen scissors are gone too. The only other person that I can think of that might have them is Freddy. 

I remember that he’s asleep right now. When he got home from school he said he didn’t feel so good and went to lie down. On the way upstairs I pass Akiva who’s doing his homework on the stairs. He doesn’t want to wake up Freddy so evacuated his room. 

Akiva and Freddy’s room door is cracked open. I push it open slowly and it thankfully doesn’t make a sound. His blinds are drawn and I can see nothing. After my eyes adjust I can see the outline of his desk.

I nearly trip on things left on the floor on the way to the desk. As silently as I can I open up the drawers and go through them. I can’t see a thing. Hopefully Freddy is asleep enough to not get woken up from the lights turning on.

I switch the lights on. My eyes are in shock from the bright light. I blink rapidly to adjust back. 

Like an idiot I missed the scissors right in front of me. They were already on the top of the desk. I grab them and on the way out I stop in front of his bed. He’s out like a light and snoring. 

Freddy’s half under his covers and half above them. I haven’t seen him without a jacket or flannel on in a really long time. Zara really should make fun of his “spaghetti arms”. He’s really self conscious about them. I don’t really understand why. It really no big deal. I mean… Oh shit. 

I see now. It all makes sense. His wrists.

They are lined with with thin lines. Cuts. Some of them are white and scars. While there are some fresher ones too. Pink and red. Most of them are pretty shallow, but there are some that look much deeper. I nearly like when I see that there are a few lines on each arm that are vertical instead of horizontal. And some of them look deep.

I quickly switch off the lights and close the door behind me. I can’t look at the anymore. As I pass Akiva again I try not to look too shaken up. 

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. How did this happen? How has no one out of the seven people living here not including Freddy never figure it out. 

Should I tell Freddy that I know? It’s one of the two obvious solutions to the problem at hand. If I talk to him I’d do it tonight after dinner. Akiva and Pedro are on dishes so I could get him alone in his room. I’d tell him I know. Then I’d ask him how and why and how long. If he doesn’t want to tell I won’t force him. And I’d tell him that he can tell me if he ever does it again or wants to. I won’t be mad. 

Or should I go to Rosa and Victor? They’d know what to do better than me. That’s for sure. They’d thank me for telling them and then they’d talk to Freddy. Rosa would coddle him in some ways while Victor’s a lot more serious. He’d get actual help. 

During dinner I debate my options. I need to make a choice fast. I zone out thinking for a bit and Eugene needs to tap my shoulder to get my attention. Rosa repeats her question and I answer with a one worded reply and shrug.

Technically I have a third option. Do nothing. But it’s not really an option I’d ever consider. I’d be a horrible person if I did that. Freddy would probably continue to hurt himself and spiral mentally and if he ever did something to himself I’d know that I could have stopped it. So yeah. Not my favorite option.

After dinner Freddy goes up to his room. Akiva and Pedro are doing the dishes in the kitchen. Eugene’s on his computer in his room. Darla is enthralled with something in the living room. And Rosa and Victor are in their room doing whatever.

Now’s my chance. 

I start up the stairs still weighing my options. Unconsciously I turn towards Freddy’s room. But right before I get there I sharply back track. I go to Rosa and Vic’s door. I take a deep breath and knock. There’s no going back.

“One second,” I hear Rosa’s voice and some shuffling around the room.

The door swings open.

“Mary,” She greets, “What’s up.”

“Ummmm…” How the hell am I supposed to phrase this? “Can I come in?”

Rosa senses that this isn’t going to be a happy, light hearted conversation. I’m not coming for homework help or dating advice. This is serious.

“Of course,” She nods and closes the door behind me.

I sit down on the edge of their bed. Rosa and Victor stand in front of me. They’re obviously concerned about what’s going on. 

“What’s the matter,” Victor asks.

“God, how do I say this?” I think for a moment and just let myself word vomit, “It’s not about me. I didn’t do anything and nothing is happening that involves me. It’s just… I saw something…. and that’s not a good way to phrase it. It sounds like I witnessed a murder which I didn’t. Not that serious. But it’s still pretty serious. This afternoon I went into his room and I swear I didn’t mean to see anything. I wasn’t actively looking. I didn’t even think that this was happening. And…”

“Mary, slow down,” Rosa gives me a quick hug and I calm down a bit. She sits next to me.

“Who are you talking about?” He sits on the other side. “It’s a he and they live here so that leaves, what? Four possibilities. Is it Akiva?” No. “Pedro?” Nope. “Eugene?”

“It’s Freddy,” I blurt. 

“Okay, so it’s Freddy.” Victor tries to coax the rest out of me. I just want to say it, but I can’t. “What did you see?”

“I can’t say I don’t know ‘cause I do know. The words just aren’t coming out.” I say.

“That’s understandable.” He gets an idea, “How about I list some things and you tell me if I’m right?” I nod. “Was he doing drugs?.”

“No.”

“Was he watching something he shouldn’t have been?”

“No.”

“Was he-?”

“No! Obviously not. Does Freddy seem like the kind of kid that would do anything like that?” They shake their heads and I just say it, “Freddy’s hurting himself. I was looking for scissors. I went into his room and he was asleep. I turned on the light and he wasn’t wearing a jacket. I saw it all. He has cuts and scars on his wrist and forearms.”

The two of them take a minute to process the information I threw at them. Neither expected me to say what I said. When I walked in they didn’t think this would happen.

It feels good to tell someone. A weight’s lifted from my chest and I breath a little easier. I look to my left and right to try and gauge Rosa and Victor’s reaction. They both look concerned and shocked, while Rosa looks sad too. And Victor looks confused. All valid reactions. They seem to be taking it pretty well all things considered. 

“Oh my God,” Rosa mumbles, “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

She mumbles something else that I can’t decipher. I can tell that mentally she’s freaking out. Rosa cares so much about all of us. Even though most of us won’t stick around for that long she makes sure we always feel wanted and safe. It’s not that she has favorites, but she’s always had a soft spot of Freddy. The news is a bit of a blow to her. I commend her for not breaking down.

Victor is a lot more level headed. He’s not apathetic to any of this, I know. He cares but in a very calm way. They balance each other out. After a moment of silence he asks me about it. 

“Was it bad?”

“What?”

“Was it bad?” He takes a deep breath. “The cuts.”

“They didn’t look like they were infected,” I assure, “But there were a lot of them. Not all of them were new. But a lot looked pretty recent. I don’t know how recent is recent. They’re just still red. And…”

“What?” Now they know there’s something else. I can’t crap out and leave out information.

“There were a few cuts that went the other direction.”

“What do you mean by… oh.” Realization hit both of them. “No.”

I nod, “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

I remember in seventh grade there was this one girl. She was in a few of my classes and I’d known her for a few years. I think her name was Kennedy or something like that. I remember her one time talking about self harm. She said, “Sideways for attention. Longways for results.” 

I thought that it was a really fucking awful thing to say. Doubt that Kennedy actually meant anything by saying it, still didn’t like it. 

The phrase repeats itself in my mind as the three of us sit in silence. 

Rosa and Victor get up and start talking to each other like I’m not there.

“We need to talk to Freddy about this.” Victor says firmly.

“I know,” Rosa agress, “But we need to figure out what we’re going to say before we go to him.”

“Why? If he’s cutting his wrist right now, us waiting to speak to him isn’t helping anything.”

Well that’s a dark image. A little extreme maybe. But it kind of makes sense in a horrifying way. 

“Why would he be right now and I don’t think a few minutes will make a difference.” She argues. 

“Uh, he’s alone in his rooms. Seems like the perfect opportunity to me.”

“Don’t say that!” Personally on Rosa’s side on this. “I’m just saying that I don’t think it’s a good idea to go in without a plan. If we say the wrong thing he might recoil and not let us in. And we can’t let that happen.”

“Okay, let’s figure this out.”

They decide that they’re going to go into his room and sit down with him. They’d ask if he wanted to talk to them about anything. Then they’d break it to him that they knew. After that they’d play it by ear and hope they don’t overwhelm him too much. 

I ask them if they could not tell Freddy that I was the one who outed him. I’ll tell him later, but I don’t want to risk our relationship. Part of me thinks that if he knew it was me, he’d be less than thrilled about me. They agree.

When they go to knock on Freddy’s bedroom door I go downstairs. Akiva is finishing up the last of the dishes.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“What’s up?” I guess I look off to hm. 

“Not much,” Lies. Just lies. “Oh, by the way. Vic and Rosa are talking to Freddy in your guys’ room. So, maybe stay down here for a bit.”

“Okay.”  
\-----------  
I’m lying in bed on top of my covers. I’m staring at the bottom of the top bunk. My grey jacket needs to be washed, but unfortunately I don’t have another one at the moment. 

I don’t feel anything. School was just fine. I mean it was shit. But I’m so used to it that bad is fine. I’m not happy, but I’m not sad. There’s no emotional connection to anyone or anything. It’s a weird mood to be in, but I’m used to it.

It’s the end of August and Akiva and my room’s fan is broken so I’m kind of dying. Logic says that I should just take off my jacket. Unfortunately that’s not really an option with me. Well, I’m all alone right now so no one would see.

But it’s been a while and Akiva’s probably done helping with washing the dishes. He’ll come in and see and then who knows what would happen. I can’t risk it. Maybe I can open the window and let in some breeze. I look over to my window and fuck. It’s already opened.

You know what? Whatever. It’s fine. I start to shrug off of my jacket. If someone comes in I can just put it back on. It’s half way off when there’s a knock at the door. 

“One second,” My voice cracks as I try to pull my jacket back on. The door opens just as my arms are safely in the sleeves. I sit up and face the door. 

In walks Rosa and Victor. Not who I expected. 

Am I in trouble? I don’t think I did anything that would warrant both of them talking to me. Rosa closes the door after them and sits down next to me. They haven’t said anything yet and that’s what terrifies me. I don’t know what’s happening at all. 

“What’s going on?” I try not to show my worry. 

“We need to talk to you about something.” Victor says.

“What is it?”

“One of your siblings informed us about something you’ve been doing.” As soon as he says that I know exactly what this is about. Shit. I’d hidden it for such a long time. How did anyone figure it out?

“Oh,” I try to sound surprised and confused. Hopefully I can lie and the only way the lie might work is if they think I have no idea what they’re talking about. 

“Have you…” He pauses, “Have you been hurting yourself?”

“What? No.” I scoot away from Rosa and cross my arms. 

“Listen, I get that this is an uncomfortable conversation, but…”

“I’m not,” I insist, “Why would I do that?”

“Freddy,” Rosa scoots over to me and brushes my hair out of my eyes, “We won’t be mad if you are.”

“But I’m not,” The more I deny it, the more guilty I seem. 

“Freddy,” Victor says and I nod. I won’t interrupt him this time, “I know this is hard for you. We don’t want you to do this alone. Okay? Can you show me your arm?”

I can’t deny this. They already know. They came to get me to confirm it. 

I shake my head. I can’t show them. 

“Please,” Rosa says.

They’re staring at me. It’s embarrassing. I mean, what kind of person cuts their wrists? Someone pretty fucked up. That’s who. 

I push up my jacket sleeves. I hold out one of my arms in front of Rosa. It’s not pretty. I know that. They don’t gasp at the sight, but I can tell they’re surprised. After a moment I pull my arm back and pull down the sleeves again. 

“Oh, Freddy.” Rosa tries to give me a hug and I let her. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” I ask, “It’s my fault. I did this to myself.”

“I just wish that you felt like you could tell us.”

I do too. I wish they didn’t have to find out like this. I wish that I had the balls to do anything. Say anything. Unfortunately my mind and my mouth don’t coordinate with each other.

“I’m sorry,” Great, now I’m blinking back tears and very close to losing it.

“It’s okay,” Rosa pulls me into a tight hug that I don’t try to get out of, “We’re not mad. It’s not your fault. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to, but I’m going to ask a few questions. Okay?” I nod, “Okay, good. How long has this been going on?”

“Ummm…”

I think back to earlier this year, mid-seventh grade. It was a particularly rough patch. Nothing was going right. My grades weren’t bad, but I was so stressed. And my only kind of friend had basically turned on me and had spread this rumor. I didn’t know what else to do. 

 

Every so often there’d be a voice in the back of my head telling me to just give up. I tried to block it out the best I could, but sometimes it got louder. And when it got to be too much I listened to the voice. A couple of times I had to delete the search history on one of the three family laptops due to the nature of my google searches. 

Then life started to calm down and I expected to feel like my normal self again. Boy was I wrong. Things were looking up, I should have felt something. I didn’t have to worry about school work, I should have felt something. I didn’t have a friend, but no one was picking on me. I should have felt something. Anything. Happiness probably. But I still felt empty.

I was angry at myself for letting myself to get to this point. I was such a mess. I hated myself for wanting to die because it was stupid. I just needed to get over it and move on. 

By then I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t let myself commit suicide. 

But that promise didn’t cover self-harm. So…

“March? April this year? I’m not sure exactly. But it didn’t get out of hand until like June or July.” I admit. 

The first time was just to see what it was like. I had read a little about it in an article for school. People who did it said it let them feel things when they were empty and that they liked the pain. It was like an addiction. They had to do it constantly and the more often they did it, the more they had to cut to feel something. It was a fascinating article, but kind of gory. 

I waited until everyone was out of the house. I took the kitchen scissors up to my room and sat on my bed. I nearly talked myself out of it. But curiosity got the best of me and I opened up the scissors and pressed a blade against my wrist. It hurt a lot the first time. I made two or three on each rest before panicking that Mary or someone would come home and catch me. I rinsed my cuts and the scissors and returned them to their place in the kitchen. 

“Okay,” Victor asks the next question, “Can I ask why you did this?”

“Well,” I swallow hard. “I wasn’t feeling anything at the time and I was upset and confused and I heard that it helped to feel something. So I tried it and I didn’t absolutely hate it so I did it again. Only once a week or so for a while. But during the summer something snapped and I just did it more and more. I was feeling better, but I just kept doing it.”

They’re disgusted. I mean, they have to be. What I’m telling them isn’t pleasant. It’s much worse than any weird fact that I’ve relayed unprompted. 

I brush my wrist against the bed and I hiss. There’s a fresher cut there and it stings a bit. Both Victor and Rosa look at me with worried expressions. 

“One more question, okay, sweetie.” She says, “How? I mean, what did you use to… You know. I’m sorry. I know it’s an uncomfortable question, but we just need to know so we can make sure you don’t have easy access to anything.”

“Yeah, I get it,” I say, “Do you remember me asking to get scissors over the summer for a project or something like that?”

“Oh my God.”

For a while I used the kitchen scissors when everyone was out. But then I started feeling bad because the kitchen scissors were used to open food. I also couldn’t bring myself to stealing one of my siblings razors. I needed to get my own pair of scissors so I asked in the most casual way I could. No surprise, I got them and things went from there.

“Freddy,” I can’t tell if they’re scolding or concerned.

“Sorry.”

Victor doesn’t respond to my apology and starts going through my desk, “Where are your scissors?”

“They should be over there. I left them out.” It’s less suspicious that way. I’m not hiding anything.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“They’re not here.”

“I left them there.”

“If you hid them, that’s okay. It would just be nice if you’d give them to us.”

 

“I’m not hiding anything!” I shout that and immediately regret it. 

Rosa says barely above a whisper, “Vic, now’s not really the time to get into an argument over this. I don’t think Freddy’s lying.”

“Sorry,” He apologizes quickly.

“Sorry for yelling,” I say. 

There’s an awkward silence for a few moments. I wish I was anywhere else at this point. 

“That was a lot,” Rosa couldn’t be more right. “I think that we should leave you alone now.” She gives me another hug before standing up, “Love you, Fred.”

“Love you too.”

“We’ll check on you later.”

I nod and they leave. 

Shit.  
\----------  
“Did you hear about the twenty-six kid drug bust at school?” Akiva asks.

He and Pedro finished the dishes fifteenish minutes ago. Pedro went up to his room, but Akiva stayed. We’d been talking in the kitchen the entire time. 

I’m sitting on the counter and he’s leaning up against the counter next to me. I’m taking a sip of water from my water bottle when he says that. I choke on the water and wheeze to get my breath back.

“You’re kidding, right?” I say and he shakes his head, “No.”

“It was the seventh graders.” He explains, “Yeah, there’s this kid in my history class who’s younger brother’s in seventh grade. There was this girl who was dealing and a bunch of people kept reaching into her backpack or something.”

“God, how did I not know about this?”

“Eh, they’ve been keeping quiet about it. Basically just the middle school kids know about it.”

Even though Fawcett technically teaches elementary, middle, and high school the grades are pretty separated. Lunch periods are a crazy mix of all the grades that I don’t really get, but I digress. There are maybe five arts classes that mix middle school with high school but that’s it. 

And the school is made up of three buildings. The main building is the biggest. It has the main, front entrance and is the high school building as well. The bottom floor has the counseling, attendance, and main office. The music and art classrooms are there too. Nurse’s office and cafeteria. And the second an third floor are classrooms.

The other two building are smaller versions of the second and third floor of the main building. I’ve never been into the middle school or elementary buildings. I didn’t start going to Fawcett until ninth grade. But from what I hear from Freddy and Eugene and Darla, the elementary area is a lot cleaner and the middle school is similar to the high school.

Also, the high schoolers don’t want to associate with the middle schoolers because they’re middle schoolers. I stand by the statement that seventh and eighth graders are the meanest people ever. That’s the real nail in the coffin that makes the different grades totally oblivious to each other. 

 

“I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

“I don’t think anyone was surprised except for the kids parents.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“We learned about it last year in Freshman Seminar. We’d have drug sniffing dogs in the middle and high school if the parents didn’t veto it. Something about parents thinking their kids wouldn’t do drugs.”

“Makes sense,” I put my empty glass on the counter, “My friends parents refuse to believe that they are hooking up and smoking in the bathrooms.”

“Jokes on them,” I look up at him and he says, “We don’t have parents to deny our problems.”

Akiva dabs and I cringe. Not because I’m offended at what he said. Really only he and Freddy can get away with making those kind of jokes. I’m cringing because he dabbed. Akiva’s the kind of person that makes fun of stuff like that and then does it to make fun of people who do it. That probably doesn’t make sense. 

“One day you’re going to say something and someone’s going to punch you.”

“Promise?” He says and I laugh. 

“You are an absolute joy,” I say sarcastically.

“Thank you,” Akiva bows and tips an imaginary top hat, “I’ll be here until December 1st.”

No one’s really talked about it since we found out. Akiva’s moving in with his older sister which means he’ll be out of here. He’s only been here since March, but it feels like we’ve known him for longer. I’m going to miss him. He’s been a good person to talk to. One of the only guys at school that isn’t a complete nerd or a fuckboy. 

“And then you’ll be living it up in Oregon;” I say. 

“You know, Mary, all things considered, I like it here.” 

“Awww…. Thanks.”

“Yeah, sometimes I wish that I still lived with my Mom, but it’s fine. Nothing I can do about it now. Just have to move on and make the most of what’s happening now.” He says, “I’ve liked it here a lot. All you are really great. Kind of off putting sometimes. But overall, enjoyable.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No offense to anyone, but have you ever shared a room with Freddy?” Rhetorical question. “He’s really nice, but I don’t need to know ninety percent of what he says.”

 

“I get that.” I think back to when Freddy first moved in a year and a bit ago. “The first thing he said to me was that hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.”

“How the hell do you remember that word?” He tries to relay it, “Hippopotamus Monster Pedophile.”

“Perfect, A plus.”

We’re still laughing when I hear two sets of feet coming down the stairs. Rosa and Victor come into the kitchen and I immediately drop down from the counter and pretend I was standing next to Akiva the entire time.

“You do realize that we saw you sitting there,” Victor says, looking kind of confused.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been standing here the entire time,” I drop the act, “Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to sit on the counter. Sorry.”

“Try not to, but it’s okay. Rosa grows serious, “Mary, we talked to…” She realizes Akiva is standing right next me, “You know. And… Akiva, love you, but could you maybe step out for a bit?”

“Of course,” He says, “I’ll go finish my homework.”

As soon as he’s gone Victor turns to Rosa and asks, “Should we tell him not to go to his room?”

“Na,” I move my empty glass to the sink, “He was doing his homework on the stairs earlier today. He’ll probably stay there.” I pause for a second, “So, what did Freddy say.”

“He denied it.” Oh. “But we got him to show us.”

“Not pretty?”

“In what world would it be?”

“A really messed up one.” I add, “He’s not going to open up to you, you know that? He’s not going to tell you when he does you know.”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

I nod kind of awkwardly, “Hey, is it okay if I go talk to him? I’ll tell you anything that he says if it’s important. Promise.”

“Go ahead,” They say.

Five minutes ago I wouldn’t have considered telling Freddy that I knew. But I suddenly got this gut feeling that it would make things worst if I didn’t. 

On the way upstairs I pass Akiva again. He asks me what’s going on and I tell him that I’ll tell him later. Probably not because confidentiality. But it’s enough to get him to go back to doing whatever he’s doing. 

Before going to his room, I stop in mine to find something. Darla and I are the only ones that don’t share a room at the moment. Here there are a total of four bedrooms. All of them have bunk beds so at most eight kids could stay here. Right now we’re at six. Akiva and Freddy share because they’re kind of close in age. And Pedro and Eugene because they’re the other guys. 

For a little less than a year I’ve had my own room. Rosa said that she wanted me to have my own space which I’m very appreciative of. Don’t get me wrong, sharing with Nayelli was fun, but she was a very loud person. 

I go to my dresser. My top drawer is where I keep my small hoard of candy and crackers. Sometimes my “boyfriend” will give me thing. Boyfriend is in quotes because Danny and I aren’t actually dating. He’s very gay but his parents don’t know and neither does anyone at our school. Danny’s my best friend and everyone would say we’d make a cute couple. So when he told me I proposed we “date”. No kissing necessary. 

I take the half empty bag of M&Ms and shut the drawer. From my bed I grab my throw blanket that used to be fuzzy and now is just kind of lumpy and my only stuffed animal. It’s a dog that I’ve had since kindergarten. It’s name is Sophie. I think I named her after one of my classmates or something. 

I knock on Freddy’s bedroom door.

“Go away.” He sounds like he’s crying.

“Nice try,” I say loud enough for him to hear me through the door, “It’s Mary.”

“Go away.”

“Tough,” I open the door. Freddy sniffles and sits up. He wipes his nose and eyes. “Rosa and Victor said that I could come up here and talk to you.”

I throw the blanket at him and he catches it and sets it down. Same thing with the stuffed dog. Before throwing the M&Ms I make sure he’s paying attention and will catch it.

“Why are you giving me this stuff?”

“You are an eighth grade boy,” I sit down next to him and he scoots away, “And you seem sad.”

“What makes you think I’d want a blanket, stuffed animal, and candy?” He looks at the things I threw at him.

“Everyone can use another blanket. Admit it, you like Sophie. And I know M&Ms are your favorite candy.”

“Thanks,” He opens the bag of M&Ms and eats one. 

“What’s wrong?”

He doesn’t know that I know so it’s best that I ease my way into this. 

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously things aren’t one hundred.” I take the M&Ms from him and popped one into my mouth. “I know that you just talked with Rosa and Victor.”

“Oh,

 

Freddy opens the bag of M&M and eats one. He mumbles, “Do you know what it was about.” I nod and his gaze falls, “Oh, that’s great. How? Did they tell you.”

“Actually, I told them.”

He looks up at me extremely confused. I can see his mind racing, trying to figure out how I know. 

“Today I came in here when you were sleeping and…”

“Fuck. I’m so fucking stupid.” Freddy mumbles.

“Dude, it’s okay,” I say, “It’s kind of good that you took off your jacket. I mean now we know and can help you, right?”

“I guess.” Freddy laughs uncomfortably, “At least now they can’t force me to take my jacket off. ‘Cause no one wants to see this.”

I don’t know how to respond to that. We sit in silence. I let my mind wander for a bit.

“Freddy, you know how some girls at school will wear t-shirts with long sleeve shirts under it.” I say, “You know the girls that wear fanny packs and look like dumbasses.”

“Yeah.”

“Well I’m thinking you’re kind of tired of wearing jackets. Yes?” He nods, “Well, I have an idea. Do you have long sleeve shirts?”

“Like three or four.” 

“Pull a basic white girl and put your superhero shirt or whatever over a long sleeve shirt. Badabing. Badaboom. No more jackets.”

I go over to his dresser and go through his drawers. I find a yellow shirt that I think might go with his green shirt. No clue what superhero it was supposed to be for, but whatever. I toss it at him.

“Try it, if you hate it, never wear it again.”

“Are you going to stay in here or go out…” His voice trails off. 

“I won’t look.”

He grumbles something, but stops arguing. I can hear him trying to change as quickly as possible. 

“I don’t hate it.”

I don’t either. Freddy looks like even more of a nerd than before, but it’s a look that suits him. 

“You look good.”

“Thanks. Really.”

“Don’t mention it,” I say, “But promise me one thing.”

“What?” 

“Please talk to me when you feel low or anything. I’ll listen. I don’t need to tell anyone anything unless it’s something actually concerning.”

“I’ll try.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you liked that. The writings not great, but I needed to get it out of my system. Leave a comment if you so please. And tell me if you’d like to see a fix that kind of introduces all of the kids who used to live with the Vasquez. I like the idea of a mini reunion for everyone. Have a nice day.


End file.
